Diodate Elizabeth

Every two weeks, the members of the 'La Unión Hace La Fuerza' (Unity is Strength) community bank meet in Rocafuerte canton. This place is known for the delicious sweet treats that its residents prepare and they are well known throughout the country.

This is Diodate's first loan cycle. One of her friends brought her to join the community bank and she has liked it a lot because the group has made her very welcome. Diodate is 36 years old and she lives with her common-law husband. They have three children aged 12, 9 and 7. All of the children are in school. Her husband is a salesman. He sells animals.

Diodate works in a restaurant in the afternoons and evenings. In the mornings she raises hens and pigs which, when they are grown, she sells whole or by the pound. Like her husband, she also works in the buying and selling of animals. She accompanies her husband to the fields where they buy more cheaply and they then take their animals to the markets of Portoviejo where they sell them for a better price.

This loan will be used to buy creole hens and chickens to raise. Her dreams are to have a well-built, concrete house.